I’ve been a James Taylor fan for years, but never more than now. We went to his concert at Tanglewood yesterday, which was a perfect event for someone in my situation. First, is was a matinee, so I didn’t have to struggle to stay awake. Next, he actually did about a half-hour’s worth of extra […]
[Read More]

When I heard recently that a friend had been diagnosed with cancer, my immediate reaction was to send sympathy and advice to keep his spirits up. That’s what people have been telling me for close to three months now, and I greatly appreciate such sentiments, especially as I realize more each day how difficult it […]
[Read More]

For the first time in four weeks, today I spent a Friday without getting chemotherapy. The regimen I’m on calls for three weeks of what are called infusions (drips of medication from an IV bag into the bloodstream) , then a week to recover. I will repeat the process starting next week before getting a […]
[Read More]

I can still remember driving from Boston to Cape Cod for a weekend retreat 40 summers ago and hearing first the news on the radio about men landing on the moon, and then about Ted Kennedy’s accident on Chappaquiddick Island. I had been in the news biz only a few weeks, but had figured out […]
[Read More]

Last night may have been the first time I have been a political event in the last 40 years without a notebook in my pocket. As a kind of busman’s holiday, I went to a forum sponsored by our local congressman, Paul Tonko, on health-care reform held at our town park. This is the kind […]
[Read More]

Today is the two-month anniversary of my abdominal surgery. Time flies when you’re having fun. Back on June 25, the doc in Boston was unable to get the tumor on my pancreas out (too tightly wrapped around a vital artery) but he did rearrange my digestive tract to get it out of harm’s way at […]
[Read More]

My first reaction to the New York Post story today that Bernie Madoff, the notorious swindler, has pancreatic cancer, was there is some justice in the world. But on further reflection I decided I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. The story, denied later in the day by federal prison officials, is that he is taking […]
[Read More]

Jay, Emily, Allyson & Ellen at Beth & Andre’s wedding Yesterday was the first time I had worn long trousers and dress shoes since June 12th. The occasion was the marriage of our longtime friend and neighbor Beth Clement, a elementary school teacher, to Andre Ray, a state trooper from Plattsburgh. A good time was […]
[Read More]